[1-Year-Old in Hawaii ⑥] Could we enjoy it even in the rain? A day spent at Aulani
Hello everyone. We've reached part 6 of 1-Year-Old in Hawaii!
Click here to read from part ①👇️
Finally, this time it's about our main event, Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa✨️
The Aulani day I was so worried about enjoying in the rain
For this Hawaii trip, we decided to stay at the Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club for two nights, and up until now, we were pretty bummed out by the rain, wind, and big storms.
Please let it be sunny on our Disney day...!
No, it doesn't even have to be sunny,
just please don't let it rain... that was how I felt.
Check-in was reassuring, but the greeting was unexpectedly...
We checked out of the Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club at 8:00 and took a taxi to Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa. The travel time was about 5 minutes.
We checked in right away at the counter on the right side after entering.
The person in charge of our check-in was Japanese again. I really get the impression that there are many Japanese people in Hawaii.
When we checked in, we received various explanations.
They said they would give us the card,
but we wouldn't be able to enter the room until we received an email,
and that they didn't know our room number yet.
We were told that we were currently on the 2nd floor,
and that the pool and restaurants were all on the 1st floor.
We were asked if anyone was celebrating an anniversary, and since my husband and I both have birthdays this month, they wrote our names on birthday buttons for us!
Regarding character greetings, they said we would be able to see them on the app around 9:00.
They also informed us that it might be indoors due to the bad weather.
Even when I checked the app before 9:00,
I could only see the label 'Greeting 9:00-21:00'.
Even when I refreshed it at 9:00, the schedule didn't appear for a while,
and it finally showed up around 9:30.
The start time for this day was from 12:15.
Is it usually like this...?
It seemed like the characters would change every 30 minutes or so at two indoor locations starting from 12:15.
The lineup for this day was
Pluto, Chip 'n Dale, Donald,
Stitch, Moana, Goofy, and Mickey.
It was a schedule where we couldn't meet 'Olu Mel or Angel.
When I looked into it, it seems that to meet all the characters, you need to stay for about a week, as some characters don't appear otherwise...!
For now, it seems there were no greetings in the morning, and since it was raining, we spent our time walking around indoors and shopping to kill time.
My son took a morning nap, so we spent time in the lobby until it was time for Makahiki.
Makahiki instantly changed my mood to 'I'm glad we came'
At 10:45, it was finally time for Makahiki!
When we went to the Makahiki venue, we just had to say our names to check in.
First, you greet Mickey, get an autograph, and have your photo taken.
I had imagined taking photos outside, but since it was raining that day, it was done indoors. In a way, this might also be a valuable experience.
My son was a bit nervous about seeing characters for the first time in a while. He didn't cry, but he was quite stiff.
Mickey asked him to sit on the floor, so when I tried to sit him down, he looked like he was about to cry, so I rescued him immediately. lol
After the greeting, we waited on a sofa for about 2-3 minutes before our names were called and we were taken to our table.
We were told we couldn't bring the stroller to the table and had to park it near the entrance. They also provided a high chair at the table.
As soon as we sat down, Chip came over to play.
Chip burst out laughing when he saw my son wearing a Donald Duck costume. It was too cute.
I finally felt like, 'Aulani Disney is fun even in the rain!'
While we ordered adult meals, I wanted to order something for my son, so without looking at the kids' menu, I verbally asked for scrambled eggs.
(It seems the kids' menu also comes with the same appetizers as the adult menu.)
The appetizer was a platter of malasadas and fruit.
For the main course, I ordered the classic Mickey waffle, and my husband ordered the loco moco.
Along the way, Minnie Mouse and Dale also came by and played with the table lights; it was truly fun and went by in a flash.
We even received a birthday plate at the end!
However, we couldn't finish everything, so we asked for plastic containers and decided to take my son's portion of fries, ham, cupcake, and malasada back to our room.
▶ Regarding prices and reservations
・Adults: $57
・Children: $30
・Tax: 4.71%
→ Total $150.78 (approx. 24,000 yen at the exchange rate of about 160 yen at the time)
It's expensive for breakfast, but considering the experience of meeting characters at that distance and spending time in that space, I felt it was worth it in the end.
By the way, we booked for close to 11:00 AM, so it felt almost like lunch.
It feels expensive if you think of it as breakfast, but I think it's a great idea to enjoy it as brunch.
It seems the reservation start times differ between guests staying at the hotel and those who are not, and for non-guests, popular time slots are apparently very competitive.
※Please note that advance reservations are mandatory.
This is what character greetings are like on a rainy day
After that, we left the restaurant just after 12:00 PM, and since our room wasn't ready yet, we headed straight to the character greetings.
We lined up around 12:45 PM for Donald at 1:00 PM and waited for about 30 minutes.
We also lined up for Stitch at 2:15 PM, and we were able to meet him in about 30 minutes as well.
Usually, you might not have to wait this long, but it seems the rain caused everyone to gather indoors on this day.
※They did cut off the line, so it might be safer to line up 15 minutes early.
※Strollers were basically allowed until just before the meeting, and we were guided to leave them in a specific spot when meeting the characters.
Finally rewarded... The best smile I saw at the pool
While we were waiting in line, we received an email saying our room was ready, and we checked in at 3:00 PM.
Our room was 1140, a pool ocean view room.
It was cloudy, but the view was nice!
I felt like it would have been even more amazing if it had been sunny...
We also requested a crib.
We had a little snack in the room, changed into our swimsuits, and headed to the pool.
Playing in the water in the baby area.
My son looked like he was really having fun, and
it was the moment I finally felt glad we came to Hawaii.
It felt a bit chilly when we got out of the pool, but
the air and water temperature were just about manageable. lol
And the thing I wanted to do most.
Just floating endlessly in the lazy river on an inner tube.
My dream finally came true.
Inner tubes were available for anyone to take, so we used a double tube and the three of us floated together.
There was a moment when the sky turned blue for just a second, and it felt truly wonderful.
We went back to the room after 4:00 PM to shower.
My son went straight to his evening nap. You did a great job!
During that time, we had the leftovers from Makahiki as a snack on the lanai.
We were saying, "Next time, we want to come during the dry season and stay a bit longer."
Aulani at night, the atmosphere was just too good.
Around 6:00 PM, we went to Ulu Cafe to buy dinner and breakfast for the next day.
We bought a poke bowl, an acai bowl, strawberries, yogurt, and a chocolate croissant. Everything was very delicious.
My son, who had taken an evening nap, was still full of energy, so we went for a walk around 8:30 PM.
The nighttime atmosphere was also very nice, and I promised my husband that we would definitely come back.
We returned to the room around 9:00 PM for a bath and packing.
A 2-day, 1-night trip that went by in a flash.
Since we are flying home on a noon flight the next day, we are leaving at 9:00 AM.
I'm so reluctant to leave...!
We had a simple breakfast with coffee and fruit in the room and checked out.
We'll be back again!!!!
In the end, how many nights is just right? Thoughts after visiting
My impressions after actually going are
・Day trip < 1 night < 2 nights (satisfaction level)
・You can really enjoy it with at least 2 nights
・If you have a week, you could probably meet all the characters
As expected, 1 night felt a bit rushed.
That said, 1 night is still plenty of fun, and I think you can get a feel for the atmosphere even on a day trip.
However, for those who think, "If I'm going all the way there, I want to enjoy it without rushing," I felt that 2 nights would significantly increase your satisfaction.
Ultimately, it comes down to your budget,
but I think choosing the best number of days within your means is the best way to go.
Thank you for reading until the end✨
Next time will be the return flight edition✈️